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Mark L. Levine
Negotiating a Book Contract: A Guide for Authors, Agents and Lawyers
Reviewed by Jay Coakley

Book contracts and publishing agreements are written by and for publishers. The implications of this factdidn’t dawn on me until it was too late. Like others with a plan to write a book, I was elated when an editor responded positively to my proposal. Signing the “Publishing Agreement” was memorable, but mostly a formality to me. After all, I had chapters to write and a deadline to meet. Royalties, copyrights, and revisions were distant blips on my radar screen. The editor, a likable and upfront person, said the agreement was the standard one used by the publisher for all textbooks. Other publishers weren’t lining up to talk with me, so I signed the agreement and assumed it was fair, although I didn’t fully understand the “legalese” it contained.

This was 1976. I was young and eager to introduce my primary field of study to students. If Mark Levine’s book had been available, I probably would have ignored it. But 35 years and 10 editions later, I can say that I was naïve, uninformed, and thick as a brick. Therefore, the purpose of this review is to encourage authors of fiction and nonfiction alike to read Levine’s book before signing a contract.

In the first sentence in the Preface, Levine states that book contracts are generally “written by publishers’ lawyers properly looking out for the publishers’ interests.” From that point forward, he shows authors how to view a book contract with their interests in mind.

Levine’s first chapter fittingly focuses on “Grant of Rights,” or licensing —the key substantive and legal theme in a book contract. He explains that “rights” can refer to the characters created and developed by an author, related trademarks, the right to publish related books or sequels, electronic rights, performance rights, and even merchandising rights. He advises authors to be wary of any wording that grants “all rights” to a publisher. He doesn’t say it, but he understands that we live at a time when nearly anything can be commodified. Therefore, it is wise for authors to retain reasonable control over how, in what forms, and under what conditions their work and related products can be sold or distributed.

Retaining reasonable control depends on knowing fully the meaning of all terms in a contract. For example, if the contract states that you “work for hire,” it means that you are an at-will employee of the publisher and have no rights or control over the use, presentation, or distribution of your work. A part-time data entry clerk would have similar legal status.

After highlighting the issue of licensing and granting rights, Levine organizes his concisely worded chapters to follow the order in which major substantive sections appear in most book contracts. He uses notations to identify paragraphs that are important (white square) and VERY important (black square) to the interests of authors. His guidelines apply to authors of fictional works as well as academic books, regardless of discipline. For those who read his entire book, including Appendices A and B and the footnotes, he provides the information and instills the confidence needed to critically assess and negotiate a contract that is fair to author and publisher.

In his accessible and never too long chapters, Levine covers issues related to “the manuscript” and how it is deemed satisfactory, and moves on to discuss representations and warranties, indemnification, relationships with other contracts, publication, advances,royalties, subsidiary rights, and royalty statements. He explains the meaning and implications of termination, out of print, options, competitive books, “next book” clauses, revised editions, verbatim and non-verbatim electronic rights—an essential new chapter, and what to consider when appointing an agent. He closes with a chapter on other important clauses found in most contracts and a final one dealing with on-demand and self-publishing contracts—another important issue for this day and age.

But don’t stop reading until you’ve at least scanned Appendix A containing a sample letter of comments that an imaginary author writes to offer changes in a book contract received from publisher. Levine shows how to tactfully raise issues and make changes before adding a signature to the publishing agreement. Appendix B deals with author-agent contracts, and the Notes provide sources and explanations for important points in the chapters, some of which have special relevance for specific authors.

Levine’s book may not cover everything an author needs to know, but it comes very close. When I closed the book I wanted to know more about making the choice between a lawyer and an agent; whetherlaws governing contracts vary by state; if it is feasible to add a clause calling for a mandatory renegotiation of certain aspects of a contract after so many sales, printings, or revisions; if there are special issues associatedwith ebooks and print-on-paper copies that are rented to consumers by publishers or other companies contracted to handle rentals; and if there is a need forauthors to anticipate changes in the ways knowledge/texts/written words will be distributed in the future.

Apart from these questions, which Levine may have answered in ways I missed, the take-away point for me is that for less than $20 authors can possess a guide making us aware, informed, judicious, and able to critically assess and negotiate a book contract—all qualities I desperately needed long ago.

About the Reviewer:

Jay Coakley is a Professor Emeritus of sociology at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs. He completed his MA and Ph.D. at the University of Notre Dame and has since taught about and studied play, games, and sports, among other topics in sociology. Dr. Coakley has received many teaching, service, and professional awards, and is an internationally respected scholar, author, lecturer, and journal editor. His text, Sports in Society: Issues and Controversies is in its 10th edition with adaptations published in Canada, Australia, and the United Kingdom, and translations in Japanese, Chinese, Korean, and (soon) Croatian.